Preferred Dealers for Repairs / Warranty

[james]

Did you contact Hanlees in Davis? They replaced my motor back in April and didn't have a problem with the JdeMO. Service rep just asked me what it was and what it did. Didn't mentioned it again.

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Thanks - I'll keep Hanlees in Davis in mind for future service.

 

[JenMoffet]

Happy with service from Toyota Walnut Creek. Just had my 12volt battery replaced after it inexplicably drained and disabled the car. Had the car towed by AAA to the dealership. They gave me an initial estimate of $480 to which we asked for a better deal, and they charged us $200.35. I think that's a good deal, however I am curious why they tried to get away with the initial estimate of $480. What are other people being charged for this?

 

[fooljoe]

So my heater's broke and I brought it in to Cerritos Toyota. They said they can't do the repair because I have a JDeMo installed. Can anyone point me to a dealer in the area that knows how to work around a JDeMo, or do I have to have Tony's guys remove it first?

Also, they quoted me $870 for the 40k mile coolant replacements, even after I pointed out that their website quotes $371 for it, including a tire rotation! :shock: Eventually they did come around and said they'd do it for the website price (Yay!?), so now I've just got to figure out what to do for the heater...

 

[Syrinx]

Did you figure out a place to get it serviced?

I had a traction battery replacement done at Carson Toyota almost a year ago, and they worked around the JDeMO. See a few posts down for the story. Tony has a contact for the service manager if you want to reach out in advance. I had to have Tony reconnect a few wires after they were done, but that just required a trip to his office in San Marcos. I know others have had a bad experience with them, but it worked out for me.

 

[fooljoe]

Yup, it's sitting at Carson now waiting for the new heater. They quoted me $260 extra to work around the JDeMO.

 

[Syrinx]

Looking for recommendations on where to take a RAV with a Check EV message (JdeMO installed) in LA/Orange/San Diego County. Thanks!

 

[Syrinx]

I got a hold of Tony Williams. He now recommends Carlsbad Toyota again due to a service manager change. I will have mine dropped off there tomorrow and will let you all know how it goes.

 

[Syrinx]

Carlsbad Toyota took the RAV in on Thursday the 3rd. They found a bunch of 12 volt errors, so they had to replace that battery first. It was an original Toyota battery already, only 3 years old, so they gave me a 50% credit on it. That cleared the 12 volt errors. They sent off the Tesla errors to them, and should hopefully get a response today on where to go next.

Update 12/8/20: The diagnosis is DU replacement. Confirmed under warranty. There are 6 in the country, and they will be having one shipped from Northern California. I should hear more on timeline for repair tomorrow.

Update 12/14/20: The drive unit has arrived, and they will begin replacing it tomorrow.

 

[Syrinx]

The drive unit was replaced. They held onto it per my request for an extra week, due to one issue they cannot seem to resolve. After replacing the drive unit, they could not get the car to go into cruise control. Everything else works. Tesla came back and said they would not be able to work with them for two weeks on this issue. Rather then have it sit there, and since they will not pay for the rental during that window, I picked up the RAV and drove it home today. I had no issues on the 50 mile drive home, and it charged as expected once I plugged it in. I will follow up with them in two weeks to see if they have heard back, and then bring it back if necessary.

Overall, I am very pleased with Toyota of Carlsbad and service agent Dave Ramstad. They only charged me for the new 12 volt battery (minus 50% credit for the remaining battery warranty) and some connectors for it, and ate the extra four days of rental that Toyota Extra Care would not cover. They also never mentioned or charged extra to deal with the JdeMO, which is amazing and unexpected. I have not tested that yet, but I will likely do so this weekend.

 

[dstjohn99]

I normally (which is nearly never) use Toyota of El Cajon. I have a check EV issue now and I called them for an appointment. They quoted a $155 diagnostic and they would have the car 2 to 4 days for evaluation. This might be realistic but it didn't make me happy. So I declined and contacted Toyota Carlsbad. They quoted a standard diagnostic fee of $59 and said they needed the car for at least 4 HOURS.

Even though it is a 45 minute drive I took the car to them the next day. I initially set the appointment with Will, but when I arrived Tom wrote it up and became my service advisor. He was helpful and communicated well. He got back to me later and said they were unable to clear the code (TMC D0013) and it would be $600 for further diagnostics because they needed to disassemble the interior quarter panel to check for wiring issues.

After some back and forth I decided this didn't make sense to me so I picked up the car. They charged me $0 for the work performed. That made me very happy, and I will not hesitate to go back if I can't resolve the issue on my own. I do have an extended warranty, but I am worried it may not be covered, and they are inflating the cost due to the warranty coverage.

Anyhow, the issue is reported as code TMCD0013, battery coolant malfunction - needs further diagnosis from the batter coolant heater to ECU; unable to reset the light.

Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with this code TMCD0013?

 

[hokiematt]

Anyhow, the issue is reported as code TMCD0013, battery coolant malfunction - needs further diagnosis from the batter coolant heater to ECU; unable to reset the light.

Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with this code TMCD0013?

The code is actually "THC_d0013 Battery Coolant Heater Malfunction"

The first step in diagnostics listed in the service manual is to check your 12V battery, as this error code can be improperly set by a drop in the 12V battery voltage. Batteries more than 3 years old are often suspect.

Beyond that, it's either a problem in the wiring harness (which is what your dealer was proposing to check next), a problem with the thermal controller (located in the right rear cargo area, and rarely at fault), or a malfunctioning battery coolant heater (most likely culprit, after the wiring and 12V system has been ruled out).

 

[dstjohn99]

The first step in diagnostics listed in the service manual is to check your 12V battery, as this error code can be improperly set by a drop in the 12V battery voltage. Batteries more than 3 years old are often suspect.

Beyond that, it's either a problem in the wiring harness (which is what your dealer was proposing to check next), a problem with the thermal controller (located in the right rear cargo area, and rarely at fault), or a malfunctioning battery coolant heater (most likely culprit, after the wiring and 12V system has been ruled out).

It definitely started with a 12V issue, I had extremely strange behavior one day with flickering cabin lights and several diagnostic errors. My first stop was the 12V battery. I had some corrosion on the terminals so I checked the battery and cleaned the terminals. Everything worked fine after that, but I am surprised that the code will not reset. Perhaps the 12V caused another problem that now needs repair.

I appreciate the feedback. I will trace down the items on the list you provided and see what I can find. Thank you.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The dealer has to reset a simple 12 volt battery error code.

 

[Syrinx]

I am taking my RAV back to Carlsbad Toyota tomorrow to fix the remaining issue with the cruise control. The new drive unit has been perfect so far otherwise.
They left the JdeMO in non-functional condition last time, so I may need to swing by QC Charge on my way back whenever it gets done to have it reconnected :|

Update: Tesla diagnosed issue as Gateway computer. They should have another one tomorrow and will replace the existing. We will see how that goes.

Update 2: The computer replacement did not fix the issue. Diagnosis ongoing.

 

[hokiematt]

Update: Tesla diagnosed issue as Gateway computer. They should have another one tomorrow and will replace the existing. We will see how that goes.

Update 2: The computer replacement did not fix the issue. Diagnosis ongoing.

This particular fault code is broadcast by the thermal controller; there's no good reason to have suspected the gateway.

The dealership should be able to perform the simple wiring checks (measuring resistances) as outlined in the factory service manual. After that, the most likely culprit is a failed heater, or less likely a bad thermal controller.

 

[Syrinx]

They should ask you and not Tesla next time, because Tesla's response is that they should replace the drive unit again. What's funny is the service rep said they were going to use a "new" one instead of a rebuild. Everything I have heard on this forum says those do not exist. I have no idea when I will see my RAV again. :roll:

 

[Syrinx]

Follow up to previous posts on my RAV 4 at Toyota of Carlsbad. I have had it there since the beginning of February for the Cruise Control issue. They were told by Tesla to wait for another drive unit and gateway computer, so they sent me away in a rental Corolla Hybrid (50+ MPG) and it stayed there for more than 3 months. Finally, they called me last week and said the new drive unit and ECU had come in and that they also discovered a bad brake light switch and replaced that. I am back in the RAV, and everything works great, including the JdeMO! The entire out of pocket was $0. The Platinum Extended Warranty's value has exceeded its cost by about 10 times at this point. I've heard a lot of horror stories on this forum, but this one worked out thankfully.

Thanks to Tony for hooking me up with Dave Ramstad at Toyota of Carlsbad.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Thanks to Tony for hooking me up with Dave Ramstad at Toyota of Carlsbad.

It's my pleasure. Unfortunately, Toyota Carlsbad may have lost their license to work on the Tesla bits of the 2012-2014 RAV4 EV.

 

[Melnric495!]

any available near kentucky?